As the Netherlands is a relatively small country surrounded by three major powers (France, Germany and England), cultural imports have always played a significant, even dominant role. National elites have traditionally defined themselves in relation to foreign models, and receptivity to foreign influence is often viewed as a national virtue. Contrary to French "chauvinism" or English insularity, the Dutch national pride is based on not being nationalistic. The readiness to adapt to changing international circumstances is lived as a precondition for national survival. Political and cultural practices in the Netherlands tend to follow on the heels of shifts in the international balance of power. Instead of resisting cultural domination in international affairs, we find a pattern of active accommodation and a predominant tendency to adjust to reality as defined internationally.

This pattern of adaptability is historically associated with trade and commerce, and is, more generally, a characteristic of the political systems of smaller Western democracies (Katzenstein 1985). It is also apparent in the cultural field, and more particularly in the development of the book market. Book production in the Netherlands has had continuous growth for most of the 20th century. Growth was strongest during the three decades following World War II, which were years of sustained economic growth, increased prosperity, and rapid expansion of the educational system. Despite competition from new media such as radio and television, the annual book production more than doubled in 35 years, rising from over 6,000 titles in 1946 to over 14,000 in 1980. Apart from the increasing demand due to population growth and rising levels of schooling and purchasing power, the expansion of the book market was also stimulated by falling prices, caused by the introduction of paperbacks. Often published in separate series, paperbacks made books accessible to larger groups of the population, changing the publication pattern. Reprints of previously published hardbacks became more numerous and, in most paperback series, translations were particularly important.

The proportion of translations in the national book production, both reprints and new titles, climbed from about 5% of all published books in 1946 to nearly 30% around 2000. If the new paperback series can partly explain this strong growth, the growth in translations was also related to increasing international mobility and international awareness, intensified through the Marshall Plan and Western alliances like NATO and the European Union. The growing number of new translations improved the position of translators, which in turn reinforced the translation economy.

The development of the postwar Dutch translation ratio indicates two periods of decline within the overall pattern of growth. The first decline, between 1966 and 1972, coincided with an overproduction crisis after the paperback boom. Several publishing houses specializing in paperbacks went bankrupt, while others restructured their publishing programs in favor of a new and more profitable type of paperback, the "giant paperback" (Van Voorst 1997). The second period of decline, between 1980 and 1988, was more profound. Following the economic downturn at the end of 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, the book market underwent a structural transformation, changing from a steady growing market into a cyclical one. During the economic crisis of the 1980s, when unemployment reached a peak of 14%, the book market shrank and the annual book production fell nearly 20% within a few years. Around 1990 the title production started to increase again, reaching a high in 1995, but despite this economic boom, annual book production decreased again after 1995. The sales figures, in particular the sale of books classified as General books (as distinct from Educational and Scientific books), confirm this pattern. By 2000 the total number of General books sold was 18% lower than it had been 25 years earlier (Van Leeuwen 2001). Although initially linked to the economic circumstances, the downward cycle of the book market has since suffered primarily from competition from new media like commercial television (cable and satellite) and the personal computer (the internet and games). These market dynamics can explain the two dips during the postwar period in the development of the translation ratio. The first period of decline was the outcome of a specific overproduction crisis, linked to the previous paperback boom. The second one, at the beginning of the 1980s, was part of the more structural transformation of the book business: the number of books published diminished, sales were in decline, and the reprint ratio diminished as well. This is one of the explanations for the temporary decline in the translation ratio.

To understand the significance of the translation ratio, one must take into account the way translations play a different role in the various categories of books. Dutch book statistics have a classification system distributing books over 33 categories. Some of these categories are so closely bound to national rules and regulations that there are virtually no translations (school books, legal publications, political and social essays). In other categories, however, translations are crucial. In the category of Prose, the majority of published books are translations (70% in 2002). Literary work proper is only a minor part of this category, which is dominated by popular and highly international genres such as thrillers, fantasy, detective stories, and science fiction. After Prose, many translations are categorized as Children’s or Youth books, including comics (40% translations). Other categories where translations are proportionally important are Religious books (38%), Historical studies (20%) and Technology (20%).